When I was in college trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life, one thing I knew for sure is that I wanted to travel. Whether I traveled for work or pleasure, I didn’t really care. The thrill of seeing new places and discovering bits and pieces of yourself along the way was too addicting for me to stop just because I graduated into the “real world.”

Instead of just talking about wanting to see the world, I am making it a priority right now while I have the freedom and few obligations outside of work (a.k.a. no kids). While I can’t jump on a plan for every adventure I go on, I am able to see new things around where I live. In the past month or so, I’ve been able to go on a few weekend and day trips to see old friends and family and beautiful fall foliage. The biggest skill I’ve learned to make these sort of trips happen?

Put dates on the calendar.

Sure, even if you have the dates, something still might come up last minute, but for me, actually writing the trip on my calendar (yes, I still have a paper planner) helps solidify my resolve. I may wait until the day before to start actually planning the trip, but I’ve blocked out the time to allow that flexibility. For example, I’ll block off a Saturday on my calendar for “adventure.” It may be the night before or morning of that I figure out what that “adventure” is, but I know something will happen.

Here are a few photos from my most recent trips over the past month. Plenty more in the works… 😉